1997 BOSTON RED SOX ...
REVERSING THE CURSE, PART 1 ... THE NOMAR ERA BEGINS
 

The 1997 Red Sox was a team in flux. A few years removed from an impressive string of playoff appearances, they had become an ill-fitted collection of fading veterans, young players and a few legit stars. The year before they had fallen just short of the playoffs. Then ownership, perceived by the fanbase as meddling, let the manager go and their star pitcher as well.

The great run that had begun in 1986 and ended with the 1995 Division Series and mad-dash attempt for the 1996 playoffs that fell just short, had ended. Roger Clemens and Mike Greenwell were gone and the new cast was unclear.

General manager Dan Duquette decided to not sign Clemens and he filed for free agency. He and Duquette had grown tired of one another. Clemens was accustomed to being the big star and having the front office cater to him. He thought that because of all he had done for the Red Sox, he deserved the biggest contract in baseball. Duquette however, thought Clemens was in the twilight of his career and not worthy of a long-term deal. The Red Sox seemed to recognize that his departure would change the dynamic of the ball club. In a statement issued to the press the Red Sox management seemed less inclined to go after a championship but was more interested in providing their fans a friendly Fenway Park experience. 

On November 19th the Red Sox selected Jimy Williams to be their new manager. The choice however excited no one as Williams had to prove that the way he managed was better than his unexciting demeanor in public.

Duquette continued to sign players on the fringe. In December, after playing in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1995 & 1996, Shane Mack returned to the United States to play ball for the Red Sox. In January free agent Mike Benjamin signed to play in Boston. Steve Avery was brought in and was reunited with former Braves third-base coach Jimy Williams. José Canseco went to Oakland for John Wasdin. Bret Saberhagen was signed to a minor league contract.

Spring training started and Nomar Garciaparra, who had briefly come up at the end of the 1996 season was moved to shortstop in favor of John Valentin. Valentin angrily walked out of spring training when he was moved over to second base, but Nomar was clearly the better player. This was the first of a series of troubles that Jimy Williams had to deal with.

The Sox opened the 1997 season with the Angels in Anaheim on April 2nd. In the ninth inning, the Red Sox trailed 5 to 2 with Nomar Garciaparra striking out. The Angels were one strike away from winning the game for the next 20 minutes. John Valentin started a rally with a double and then Mo Vaughn walked on a 3-2 pitch. Reggie Jefferson got an infield hit and Tim Naehring walked. Rudy Pemberton was hit by a pitch and Troy O'Leary beat out an infield hit to put the Sox ahead 6 to 5. It was the Red Sox best opening day comeback since 1902.

In Seattle, two days later on April 4th, the Sox unloaded on the Mariners, 10 to 5. Darren Bragg knocked out two homers while John Valentin had three hits and Nomar had four.

On April 5th in Seattle, the Red Sox mounted another ninth inning comeback, scoring four runs, three of which came from Nomar's first home run of the year. 

On April 8th, in Oakland, the Sox had another offensive explosion when they beat the A's, 13 to 7. Reggie Jefferson smacked a pair of homers while Darren Bragg's three hits brought in five runs.

The Sox finished their first road trip and came back to Fenway Park at 4-4. They came home to meet the Mariners and lost the first two games, but on April 13th they won their first home game, behind Tom Gordon, 7-1. Nomar had two doubles, but it was Tim Naehring's grandslam that clinched it.

The next day on April 14th, the Sox hosted the A's and Tim Wakefield allowed just one hit in the seven innings he worked. Meanwhile, Darren Bragg (.355 BA) continued his hot hitting with three hits in the Sox 10 to 1 victory.

They followed that up on April 15th with a 7-2 win against Oakland, beating them 7 to 2. Aaron Sele held the A's scoreless for seven innings while the Sox put up five runs, Nomar had three hits including a triple and a home run. The Sox had given up just four runs in the last three games.

On April 16th, it was all about Mo Vaughn. Vaughn went 11 games before hitting his first home run and then hit two three-run shots in consecutive innings, powering the Red Sox past Cleveland, 11-6, for their fourth straight win.

They hosted the Orioles and split two games with them. On April 21st, Nomar had two hits and Wil Cordero also had two, including a home run, that gave the Sox a 4-2 decision. The Sox closed out their initial homestand, at 5-4 in 2nd place.

The Sox took to the road and at Jacobs Field, On April 22nd, Nomar went 4 for 4, in an 8-2 rout of the Indians, hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run and barely slowing down thereafter. He doubled, singled twice, drove in two runs and scored three. He also walked, putting him on base all five times he came to the plate, stole a base, and scored on a dash to the plate after a sacrifice fly. Nomar was batting .457 (16 for 35) during an eight-game hitting streak, raising his overall average to .349. In that stretch, he had four doubles, a triple, two home runs, nine runs, six RBIs, and three stolen bases.

Then Nomar propelled the team to a 2-1 win, with a 12th inning home run in Baltimore on April 24th.  Back home on April 30th, both Nomar and Mo Vaughn led a brutal Sox attack on the Angels, 11 to 2. The Sox finished April with a 13-12 record and were in second place, four games back.

The Sox beat the Rangers in Texas, 5 to 4 on May 2nd. John Valentin's single to center in the ninth inning scored Jeff Frye with the go-ahead run in the win.

But they lost 14 of 17 games during the first three weeks of May and fell to 13 1/2 games out and were in last place. Few players other than Vaughn and Nomar were hitting well. On May 17th, in Minnesota, Tom Gordon shut out the Twins 4-0 for one of the few bright spots.

On May 22nd the last-place Red Sox exploded for 19 hits, in an 8-2 victory in New York that put a chill on the weekday afternoon crowd in New York. Gordon cruised for the second straight outing and got plenty of help. There were five hits by Wil Cordero, four by Tim Naehring and a three-run homer from Mike Stanley. Mo Vaughn launched one into the third deck at Yankee Stadium.

The next day, the Sox made it two straight over the Yankees, winning 9 to 3 on May 23rd, behind Mike Stanley's three-run homer.

Back at Fenway on May 26th, the Sox brought back some of the "Magic" when Tim Naehring smacked a double off the left field wall in the 9th inning to score Wil Cordero and Jeff Frye, giving the Sox a 3-2 walk-off. In the next game, Mike Stanley's pinch single sunk the Brewers, 7 to 6, giving the Sox their fourth victory in the last five games.

The winning continued when the White Sox came to town on May 28th. John Wasdin and Heathcliff Slocum held off Chicago for a 5-3 victory.

Vaughn had perhaps his best day ever in a Boston uniform on May 30th against the Yankees at Fenway Park.  In five plate appearances, he was perfect. He singled off the wall, homered into the Red Sox bullpen, homered to left-center, walked, and homered into the Red Sox bullpen again, as the Sox beat the Yankees 10 to 4. However, the Red Sox (22-29) remained in last place after a 9-17 month of May.

June started with a string of losses to the Yankees and Brewers. Tim Wakefield gave them a breather on June 5th, when he defused the Brewers with a marvelous 2 to 1 victory. He threw 169 pitches over 8 2/3 innings. Mo Vaughn powered his 16th homer and added a double to give him the run support he needed.

Then on June 8th, the team, led by Nomar and Troy O'Leary, put it all together for a 12-6 win over the Indians. 

After going 6 for 7 with two home runs and four runs batted in, Mo Vaughn very well could have been muttering to himself after the Red Sox were swept by the Orioles, 7-2 and 4-2, in a doubleheader on June 10th, at Fenway Park. After the double loss, for the next two weeks, the Sox got hot, winning 11 of the 14 games they played.

The season turned tabloid when Wil Cordero, uncomfortable in the outfield and not hitting, was arrested for assaulting his wife. The Sox reluctantly bowed to community pressure and kept him out of the lineup for nearly two weeks. When they brought him back, they benched him again, when his wife made more allegations and Cordero laughed his way through an ESPN interview.

Led by Reggie Jefferson at the plate and Tom Gordon tossing a complete game, the Sox pounded the Orioles, 10-1, on June 11th. The Sox scored three runs in the third inning the next night on June 12th, two on Mo Vaughn's homer and five in the fourth on Nomar's three-run shot, to beat the Orioles again, 9 to 5.

The fun continued on June 13th, when the Sox went to Shea Stadium for the first time since 1986, and beat the Mets, 8 to 4. The Sox rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take the lead on back-to-back homers by John Valentin and Troy O'Leary. Mo Vaughn also belted one off the right field scoreboard.

They lost the next game, but finished the series by beating the Mets, 10-1 on June 15th. Nomar homered to extend a hitting streak to ten games. Vaughn Eshelman took the mound and provided seven innings of four-hit ball. Mo Vauhgn however re-injured his knee sliding into home and would be placed on the DL, needing surgery. He led the league with 20 homers and 45 RBIs.

The Sox next traveled back home to play the Phillies and swept them in their three-game match-up. Troy O'Leary came up with the big hits when he drove in the two tying runs with a pinch double off the wall in the ninth to tie the game at 4-4 run in their first meeting on June 16th. He then was plunked with a pitch in the bottom of the tenth, with the bases load, to bring in Tim Naehring, who trotted in with the 5-4 game winner.

The next night on June 17th they piled on the Phils, 12 to 6. Nomar provided a two-run homer, his fourth one in six games, and a 12-game hitting streak, where he was 12 for 53 (.396 BA).

The final game on June 18th was a 4-2 win. Jeff Suppan allowed three hits in seven innings, while Shane Mack's bases-loaded two-run single snapped a 2-2 tie and finished off a three-run seventh inning.

In Detroit on June 22nd, Tom Gordon again pitched a gem, beating the Tigers 2 to 1. He allowed just four hits over seven innings, while Reggie Jefferson picked him up with three hits.

The Sox then went up to Toronto and swept the Blue Jays.  On June 23rd they squeaked out a 7-6 win. Tim Naehring had three base hits and a home run, but then he injured ligaments in his elbow as he made a throw, and for the seventh time in seven years, he ended up on the DL.

On June 24th, led by Nomar's four hits, the Sox won 9-6. The Sox banged out 15 hits with ten coming in the first two innings. And finally on June 25th, in an exciting slugfest, the Sox emerged victorious, 13-12, with Nomar going 3 for 4.

The Sox played well in June but still were playing just .500 ball, winning 14 of the 29 games. In the basement, they remained 16 games out.

With the help of Troy O'Leary's three hits, Jim Corsi came off the DL and on July 1st preserved a 9 to 2 Sox win over the Florida Marlins.

Two nights later in Chicago, Aaron Sele was in complete control and earned his 10th win with a 4 to 1 victory. Nomar Garciaparra banged out his 13th homer and doubled.

Nomar went into the All-Star break with 13 homers and a .291 average. He made the AL squad, and the day before the game he won the Home Run Derby at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, by depositing 13 balls into the stands.

In the All-Star Game on July 8th, the AL Stars broke a 1-1 tie in the eleventh inning on Sandy Alomar's homer that gave them a 2 to 1 win. Nomar didn't get a hit in the game.

Right after the break on July 10th, the Sox beat the visiting Blue Jays with an 11 inning walk-off. Nomar started the game with a homer and ended it with a bases-loaded walk, 8 to 7. But the Jays took three of the four game set.

Roger Clemens made his Fenway reappearance in a Toronto uniform on July 12th and struck out 16 men, beating Aaron Sele 3 to 1, and giving up just four hits in eight innings.

When the Tigers came to Fenway Park on July 14th and the Sox unloaded their frustrations, scoring 18 runs on 21 hits, in a lopsided 18-4 win. John Valentin and Wil Cordero each had three hits as every one of the Sox hitters had at least one hit. Scott Hatteberg pinch hit and blasted a three-run homer in the 6th inning.

The Sox went on the road and won six of the seven games on the trip. In Baltimore on July 16th, the Sox upstaged the first place Orioles, winning 4 to 1. Steve Avery threw seven shutout innings for the Sox and Mike Stanley hit a three-run homer.

On July 17th, Mo Vaughn, on a night the Red Sox had 21 hits, delivered the biggest. An eighth-inning 425-foot, two-run home run into the Orioles' bullpen broke a 7-7 tie. The home run was Vaughn's 22nd of the season. John Valentin had four hits, and Vaughn, Reggie Jefferson, and Mike Stanley had three apiece. It came on a night that began with a game-time temperature of 101 degrees and when every Red Sox starter, except Jesus Tavarez, had at least one hit.

The next night, July 18th in Cleveland, Tim Wakefield threw a complete game shutout at the Indians, 7-0, for one of the top Sox pitching performances of the season. The next night, July 19th, the Sox beat the Indians, 6 to 3, on John Valentin's two home runs. Steve Avery limited the Tribe to 4 hits in a 3-1 Sox win two nights later on July 21st.

Off the field, it was Mo Vaughn making the news, when he was accused of punching a patron in a Cleveland nightclub during the trip.

Back at Fenway on July 22nd, Jeff Frye delivered three hits, including the game-winner in the eighth inning, 4 to 3. Then on July 24th, Jeff Suppan shut out Oakland, 3-0.  Nomar went 3 for 4 with a double, triple and a home run.

The Angels next came to Fenway and on July 26th, Mo Vaughn slammed a walk-off three run homer to give the Sox a come-from-behind 6 to 4 win.  The team notched another walk-off win the next night, on July 27th, as Wil Cordero finished off a three run ninth inning comeback by driving in John Valentin with the winning run.

Tim Wakefield shut out Randy Johnson and the visiting Mariners, 4 to 0 on July 29th, giving up just five hits. Mo Vaughn belted his 24th off Johnson in the fifth inning.

Then it was another come-from-behind win on July 30th.  The Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth after scoring two in the bottom of the eighth, to take the game into extra innings. Nomar Garciaparra stroked a line drive single off the wall to score the winning run in probably the most exciting game of the season. The Sox beat Seattle again, 8 to 7.

At the end of July, Mo Vaughn was batting .326; Troy O'Leary batting .318; John Valentin was hitting .304; and Reggie Jefferson at .363 ... The Sox after winning 15 of 32, were still 17 1/2 games behind Baltimore, in second-to-last place.

The big news came on July 31st, when the Red Sox traded their closer  Heathcliff Slocumb to the Seattle Mariners, for a minor leaguer named Jason Varitek and a pitcher who had pitched in only 12 major league games with a 6.96 ERA, named Derek Lowe.

On August 1st, The Sox went to Kanas City and beat up the Royals, 10 to 3. They knocked out 15 hits, including three homers, giving the team a sizzling .297 BA. One of those home runs belonged to Mo Vaughn (.333 BA) who cranked out four hits including his 25th homer.

The Sox stayed hot winning seven of the next nine games, while the Rangers had lost six out of their last seven. In Texas, on August 4th, Troy O'Leary's triple with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning gave the Red Sox a 7-5 lead, and then they pushed across four more runs, to make it 11-5.

The Sox teed off on what passed for major league pitching, by clobbering the Rangers the next night on August 5th, annihilating the Texas Frisbee-tossers, 17-1, in a 24-hit barrage. Nomar Garciaparra was the most vaunted of the Red Sox hitters, going 4 for 7, with two doubles and a homer (his 20th) as the Sox batted around in both the third and fourth innings. Nomar got two hits in the third inning, when the Red Sox scored eight runs and sent 14 players to the plate, and also helped key a four-run barrage in the fourth when the Red Sox paraded a measly nine batters to the plate. Nomar's performance was magnificent. He led the American League in hits, at-bats, multi-hit games, and triples.

The next game on August 6th, was a 5-2 Sox victory in Minnesota. Tim Wakefield, working on two days rest, knuckled in 110 pitches, 76 of which were strikes. The following game on August 7th, the Sox had to hold on after jumping out scoring five runs in the second inning and winning 7 to 6. The Sox bullpen had to hold the Royals for 3 2/3 innings after Aaron Sele was knocked out. With Heathcliff Slocumb gone, Jim Corsi got the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Reggie Jefferson's three-run homer got the Sox going in the last game against the Twins on August 8th, giving him a 22-game hitting streak and the Sox an 8 to 2 win.

Back at Fenway, Nomar Garciaparra continued dramatically on August 10th. Nomar, who had hit a two-run homer to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, blasted a double in the eighth, driving in Mike Benjamin with the go-ahead run in the 6-4 victory over Kansas City. The Sox were 20-12 since the All-Star break, thanks in large part to Nomar, who was hitting .307 and had scored 90 runs.

After losing the next three the Sox went on a six-game winning streak. Jeff Suppan started it off on August 14th with a 6 to 1 win. The Sox batters broke up the 1-1 pitchers duel again in the eight with a five-run outburst against the Twins, led by John Valentin's bases-loaded triple.

REGGIE JEFFERSON

Then on August 15th, Reggie Jefferson came thru again in the 10th inning with a walk-off base hit to give the Sox a 5 to 4 win over Minnesota. On August 16th, the Sox pummeled the Twins, 12 to 4. The teams combined for five errors and nine unearned runs. A three run triple by Wil Cordero in the third inning was a teaser. Valentin started the seventh with a double and later singled in the seven run inning. He was batting .519 (15 for 29) in his last seven games. Troy O'Leary who had a pair of doubles in the last game banged out two more in this one.

The Sox hit parade continued the next night, August 17th, with a 10-5 win to sweep the Twins four straight. Every Sox batter got a hit and only Reggie Jefferson and Jeff Frye connected for a double apiece of the 14 safeties.

The Sox then embarked on a West Coast road trip and swept a doubleheader in Oakland on August 20th. The second game was a 5 to 4 affair that took 13 innings to win. The Red Sox had won 12 of their last 16 games, but were still 17 games out, in third place.

Three straight games were lost before the Sox had a win in Anahein on August 24th, 3 to 2. Tim Wakefield allowed just four hits in eight innings of work and John Valentin's two run  homer in the 5th was the difference.

In Seattle the next night, on August 25th, the Sox walked away with a 9 to 8 win. Valentin's base hit of old friend Heathcliff Slocumb scored Jeff Frye with the game winner. Two nights later the Sox won again, beating the Mariners, 9 to 5. Nomar had three hits bringing up his batting average to .316

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they came home and hosted the Atlanta Braves and their bats were quieted by John Smoltz, Kevin Milwood and Tom Glavine. The Sox (67-70) finished the month going 16-13 but were now 20 games behind the Orioles.

But still, at the end of August Nomar had run a hitting streak that ended at 30 games, four games from tying both Dom DiMaggio's club record and the major league record for longest hitting streak by a rookie.

September started with four straight defeats, three in Montreal and one at home to the Brewers. The Sox had scored only 14 runs in their last seven games, but the bats woke up on September 6th when they beat the Brewers 10 to 2. Tim Wakefield won his tenth game and clearly was the Som most valuable pitcher, working in and out of the bullpen on two or three days rest. In the third inning, Sox batters cranked out six hits, five of them doubles and put up seven runs.

The fun continued in the next game on September 7th, beating the Brewers 11 to 2. The Sox knocked out six homers and John Valentin belted two of them.

The Yankees next came to town and they split a two game set. The Sox won the second game 5-2 on September 10th. Aaron Sele gave up two runs and Tom Gordon shut the the Yanks down in the last two innings. Gordon was 5-for-5 in save opportunities.

On September 12th in Milwaukee, Nomar Garciaparra paced a power parade with two homers, giving him 28 and lifting his major league-record total for RBIs by a leadoff man to 90. Nomar reached yet another milestone when he hit the first of three homers off Brewers starter John D'Amico, a line drive to left on a 1-1 pitch to open the game. It was his sixth game-opening homer of the season, one of the top 10 such performances of all time, and he became the first Red Sox player on that list.

Tim Wakefield did it again easily on September 13th, holding down the Brewers, 2 to 1. Tied at one run apiece, John Valentin doubled in the seventh to score Nomar with the difference maker. Tom Gordon pitched the ninth for another save.

The score was 2 to 1 again in the next game on September 14th. Solid pitching in this game came from Butch Henry. Nomar was responsible for the Sox two runs with his 29th homer.

A visit to Yankee Stadium next produced three losses, before the Sox came home to host Toronto. On September 17th the Sox beat the Jays 4 to 3. Mo Vaughn slugged his 33rd homer of the year.

On September 18th, Jeff Frye knocked in the Sox winning run to beat Roger Clemens and the Blue Jays. Clemens left with a 2-1 lead only to see his bullpen blow it in the ninth inning. Frye was hitting .407 for the month (22 for 54) and was hitting .309 overall.

On September 20^th, as the Red Sox went down to a 6-4 loss to Chicago, Nomar became the 10th player in club history to reach the 200-hit milestone with a two-run, seventh-inning single that tied the game, 3-3. He then stole second and came around to score the fourth run on a single by Mo Vaughn. Nomar was the first rookie to reach the milestone since Kevin Seitzer had 207 for Kansas City in 1987.

In Detroit on September 24th, Mo Vaughn hit a home run that landed on the right field roof of Tiger Stadium. 473 feet away on September 24th. Tim Wakefield won the game, 9 to 2. It was the 16th time he had pitched seven or more innings. Jeff Frye singled and had hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games. Jason Varitek had been called up, pinch hit for Bill Hasselman, and got a hit in his first major league at-bat.

The Sox won the next night on September 25th, 3 to 1. Mo Vaughn slugged his 35th homer of the season in the Sox three-run seventh inning.

Nomar saved the season. He hit his 30th home run, on September 27^th in Toronto, and then added two more hits to break Johnny Pesky's 55-year-old club record for most hits by a rookie, 207. His emergence as one of baseball's premier shortstops may have well saved Jimy Williams and Dan Duquette.

The team was in flux. A few years removed from an impressive string of playoff appearances, they had become an ill-fitted collection of fading veterans, young players and a few legit stars.

Mo Vaughn's inability to stay quiet dominated the last half of the season. His contract was due to expire and in June the Red Sox made him a multiyear offer for 8 1/2 million dollars per year. Vaughn and his agent never responded and in September Dan Duquette and Vaughn clashed. Duquette gave Vaughn an ultimatum and vowed that he would never allow another front-line player to walk away and receive nothing in return. He claimed the club's offer to Vaughn was fair, but Vaughn was equally stubborn. He thought his stature in the community, not to mention his ability, counted for something despite his recent troubles. He charged that the Red Sox were lying to the press about their offer, bad-mouthing him in private, and having him followed by detectives. To him, the issue was one of respect. And so the standoff continued through the end of the season.

Nomar Garciaparra’s first full season was auspicious. No shortstop in club history had ever offered the combination of offense and defense he showed. Quiet and unassuming, and apparently allergic to touting his own accomplishments, he was the perfect antidote to a season marked by scandal. He combined the best qualities of every Red Sox shortstop in history. He displayed Johnny Pesky's batting ability and demeanor. He had Rick Burleson's arm and the power of Vern Stephens and Rico Petrocelli. He had the range and speed of Luis Aparicio. He was the rarest of players, particularly for the Red Sox. He was a five-tool guy, who demonstrated the sixth sense of knowing how to keep his mouth shut.

He hit safely in 30 straight games for an AL rookie record. He led the AL with 209 hits and 11 triples and led the majors in multi-hit games. He finished the season with 30 homers—a record for rookie shortstops—and obliterated Harvey Kuenn’s all-time mark of 85 RBIs by a leadoff hitter with a robust 98. He also broke team marks held by Ted Williams (for total bases) and Johnny Pesky (for hits) by a Red Sox first-year player. Nomar ended up leading the AL with 209 hits, 684 at-bats, and 11 triples. His 365 total bases were second in the league. Defensively he was just as good. He made highlight-reel plays without screwing up the easy balls and topped the AL in total chances, putouts and double plays.

That fall, Nomar became only the fifth unanimous choice for AL "Rookie of the Year". After the season, the Red Sox tore up his contract and raised his salary to $4 million a year. He finished eighth in MVP voting and won a "Silver Slugger" Award.

John Valentin had moved over to second base to make room for Nomar. In 143 games, he batted .306 with 18 homers and led the Sox with 47 doubles and 176 hits.

During the early season Mo Vaughn' was on the disabled list because of arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to replace torn cartilage, but after the All-Star Break, he returned to play, hitting a home run his first game back and finishing the season with 35 and 96 RBIs. A great baseball star and conscientious champion for America's youth, he continued to prove that he is still the "Hit Dog" both on and off the field.

Tim Naehring had played 70 games, with a .286 batting average, and 40 RBIs. He also had a streak of 58 consecutive games without an error. In late July he had Tommy John surgery on his injured elbow.

Jeff Frye was a valuable addition to the Red Sox.  Replacing Naehring, Frye chipped in with many clutch hits, some of which won ball games.  He had a career year hitting .310 with six home runs in 127 games.

Wil Cordero had moved to left field and was an above-average defender. He posted career-highs with 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, 82 runs, and 160 hits.

Troy O'Leary had a fine year, posting a .309 BA with 32 doubles and 16 homers.

Reggie Jefferson platooned with Mike Stanley as the team's DH. Jefferson batted .319 in 136 games. Stanley hit .3009 in 97 games. They each had 13 home runs.

Tim Wakefield (12-15) was a pitcher who had done so much with so little rest. After a swollen elbow put him on the 15-day disabled list in April, he was 12-15, despite an improved 4.25 ERA. His 15 losses were the most in the AL. In 35 games, he pitched 201 1/3 innings and struck out 151 batters.

Aaron Sele led the Red Sox in wins and starts while ranking third in innings and strikeouts. He was 4–1, 3.72 in his first seven starts through May and 4–1, 3.93 in a span of five outings from June to July. He tied his then-career high with 11 strikeouts in July.

Jeff Suppan had the only season with the Sox in which he made more than 10 starts. He was 5-1 at Pawtucket, and was 7–3, with an ERA of 5.69 in 22 starts.

With the Pawtucket Red Sox, Derek Lowe was 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA and in September was called up to the big-league club, where he was 0-2 in 16 innings but with a solid 3.38 ERA.

Bret Saberhagen pitched his way back to the majors and was 0-1 with a 6.58 ERA in 26 innings at the end of the season.